Of all the protest signs at all the rallies where people gathered last year to object to Washington's plans to save the US economy and reform healthcare, this hand-lettered one is memorable: "You can't fix stupid, but you can vote it out."
That's the "tea party" movement in a nutshell. Here's a look at the tea party movement – its birth, its leadership, and its aspirations.

If anything, cancellation of the National Tea Party Unity Convention may indicate the strength and vastness of the movement. Like Democrats and Republicans, 'tea partyers' are numerous enough to justify infighting.

Carl Paladino, a tea party backed Republican candidate, is catching up to front-runner Andrew Cuomo in the race for governor of New York, according to a new poll. Cuomo's lead over Paladino is now down to six percentage points.

Christine O'Donnell, the Republican party candidate for a senate seat in Delaware, used campaign money to pay half her rent, according to a Federal Elections Commission filing. Christine O'Donnell denies doing anything wrong.

Christine O'Donnell's victory Tuesday prompted Bush adviser Karl Rove, who is trying to fashion GOP majorities in Congress, to say of her general election prospects, "This is not a race we're going to be able to win."

Political dispatches via Twitter emerged in 2008, but it's a whole different animal today. Campaigns of tea party candidates, especially, have made effective use of the 'attack tweet' to rouse followers.